


The Hound and the Recruits

by MaxBetta



Series: SanSan Fics Inspired by Dickinson [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Gen, Inspired by Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 18:12:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13393446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxBetta/pseuds/MaxBetta
Summary: Inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem "I like a look of Agony."





	The Hound and the Recruits

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem "I like a look of Agony."

Sandor was pacing back and forth looking down at his feet moving in the dry dirt. There were thirty young men sitting on the ground around him, awaiting his words of wisdom. They were the newest members of the Lannister army, “fresh meat”, as the members of the kingsguard liked to call them. They were done training for the day, but Sandor wanted to speak with them before they were dismissed. Finally standing in one place, looking at the faces around him, he began his speech.

 

“The only time a man is honest is when he’s dying. When he’s lying there, convulsing, a look of agony on his face because he’s just been run through with a sword, he’s telling the truth. There is no faking that. And when a man’s eyes glaze over, you can know that death has taken him. Soon enough, you will experience the death of a man. Could be someone else’s death.  Could be your own. When you are fighting and attacking, you do not stop until death has taken the person you are pit against. Then, and only then, can you move on to the next target. The battleground is not the time to think about drinking and fucking whores when you return. You must think only about death, and hope that it finds someone else before it comes for you.”

The men looked up at him in astonishment, as if the possibility of their own death had never been a thought in their minds.

 

“You’re dismissed.”


End file.
